Like it or lump it, we now live in an age of hybrid working. The pandemic took a relatively niche way of doing things and made it ubiquitous. Coming out the other side, it seems that the majority of companies that can embrace remote working are doing so. Hybrid working is here to stay.

Nothing is simple, and for every advantage of hybrid working – the potential for increased employee well-being, flexible hours and even increased productivity – there's a challenge.

Engagement isn't just a buzzword. It has real-life consequences for the health and well-being of your staff and the productivity of your company.

But as Dr Derek Avery at Houston University remarked, "Engagement is already a challenge when employees are in one place, so it will be even more difficult when they're geographically dispersed".

Ever feel like you're herding cats in three postal districts at once? Help is at hand – here are five things you can do to engage your remote workers.

1. Boost your onboarding

If you turn up to a dinner party and aren't introduced properly, you'll probably feel a bit out of place. That, in turn, will affect how you interact with the other guests.

It's the same when you join a company. Poor onboarding can result in undesirably high turnover – and is arguably a significant driver of the Great Resignation (2021-present).

If you're not rubbing shoulders with a new employee, you need to go the extra mile to make sure they feel included.

At a bare minimum, you should be sending out personalised welcome messages with all the information they need to get started. You need to show them how to use company comms – whether that's Slack, Teams or something else – and check in regularly to see how they're getting on.

You could also consider a buddy system, where your new recruit has a fellow employee to turn to with questions. But this shouldn't be a substitute for efficient, welcoming onboarding from the top down.

2. Communicate

"Well, yes", we hear you sigh. Communication is the oxygen of a company, and so on and so forth.

While it's a cliche to say that communication is all-important, it's more apt to say that good communication is paramount. How can you ensure that your lines of communication aren't only open but are also doing the job?

Again, let's go back to our dinner party. On one side of your plate are seven forks of different sizes. The waiter offers you gravy but there's nothing on your plate. Some people help themselves to wine, others don't. No one is looking at you.

At first, you're probably going to feel out of place and embarrassed. But eventually, that discomfort will turn into plain old disengagement. Why bother trying to get involved if no one's giving you the time of day?

Having a remote team is like this, only all the diners are in separate buildings and the table is floating in space. You need to make an effort to ensure that people feel seen and valued.

One way to do this is to encourage staff to actively contribute to Slack or Team channels. This is faster than email and can lead to fluid, productive conversations.

Obviously, you'll be holding remote meetings – but how can you make them engaging? One simple thing is to encourage people to have their cameras on (but don't make a big deal if they ask not to!)

Regular, scheduled one-to-one feedback can help people to feel engaged and motivated no matter where in the world they are.

Finally, why not schedule knowledge-sharing sessions for staff? Webinars, team presentations, discussion groups, book clubs… They all give people a chance to get involved even if they're scattered across the globe.

The tools for good communication are at your fingertips. Make sure you use them.

3. Encourage social bonding

Just because your team is scattered, doesn't mean you can't provide opportunities for them to mingle.

We all know about team building days – but one thing to consider is hybrid events. This is where most people are present in the room but a person who can't make it, for whatever reason, can join by video link.

Creating these possibilities for your staff can lead to better teamwork, problem-solving and productivity.

4. Reward people for their achievements

This is good practice in any work setting. But it's especially important if members of your team are working remotely, whether all the time or just some of the time.

It's good in general because people want to feel that they're getting something back from the hours and hours they're pouring into your company – something more than just the paycheque.

And, more specifically, it's great for remote workers because it means they feel seen and valued – and are more likely to feel engaged.

Employee reward and recognition schemes are one approach – but even a simple thank you card or small gift can make a difference. Make sure that people's achievements are valued, big and small.

5. Adopt XR-enhanced video collaboration

Staff engagement has never been a given – and the advent of hybrid working has created a few new challenges. But by prioritising good communication at every stage, you're bound to see a difference.

Another way to engage teams who are scattered geographically is through XR-enhanced video collaboration.

This is where your frontline staff wear smart glasses or headsets that are hooked up to an audio or video call platform.

Whatever your sector, video collaboration means that you can take full advantage of "see-what-I-see" technology.

This is where a remote expert can see what your frontline staff is seeing. In the event of a shutdown or other technical blip, this can drastically reduce the time (and money) needed to get things back up and running.

Couple that with in-call annotation – where your remote expert can circle or highlight objects in the staff member's field of vision – and you have a powerful set of tools to make your teams more connected and engaged than ever before.

Remote assistance tools such as in-call annotation and 3D asset visualisation are built into SimplyVideo's XR video collaboration platform. Interested? Sign up today for a free 30-day trial.